New Delhi, 14 March

Government on Thursday said it has taken action to block 18 OTT platforms and social media accounts associated with them for publishing obscene, vulgar and in some instances pornographic content.

In a statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said 18 OTT platforms and 19 websites, 10 apps (seven on Google Play Store, three on Apple App Store), and 57 social media accounts associated with them have been disabled for public access in India.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur has emphasised the responsibility of the platforms to not propagate obscenity, vulgarity and abuse under the guise of 'creative expression'.

The decision to act against the OTT platforms was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in consultation with other ministries/departments of the Government, and domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women's rights, and child rights, the statement said.